...and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth.

 In Ether chapter 2, the Bro. of Jared and company arrive in a spot of ground that was comfortable enough for them to recover, and get settled in for four (4) years. This could have been a great place to live, but... The Lord had bigger plans for them. Sure they had traveled into previously uninhabited parts of the world, they had worked really hard to get to this new and apparently great place, the Lord needed them to continue to work hard.

So following the Lord's specific instructions, the Bro. of Jared and company build eight (8) huge barges. (The details of the story do not provide dimensions of the crafts, but seeing all that were in them, they would have to be huge*). Upon completing the task, the Bro. of Jared approaches the Lord, and reports that they had completed the work. Now remember, they had followed the specific instructions provided by the Lord. The Bro. of Jared identifies there are three issues that need to be resolved: They cannot breath, they cannot steer, and they cannot see.

The Lord is prepared for all three issues: Breath: cut an air hole. (Someday ask me about sleeping in a snow cave with the Scout Troop, and how cutting a hole in the cave saved the troop from the same delimea). Steering: - we'll come back to this one. Sight: The Lord gave that responsibility to the Bro. of Jared to solve. Notice how the other two, based upon the design of the barge, the passengers had no control (think the end of Finding Nemo, and all the fish are in the plastic bags floating in the ocean, but cannot control the bags). The light inside the barge could be influenced and would be handled by the people, so the Lord let him create a solution for that. A solution I am excited to one day.

Let's go back to the steering problem. The family of Lehi had a liahona to help them steer across the ocean, why not use the same ship design and tools for the Bro. of Jared? or the other way around: why did the Lord need to perform the miracle of the liahona? The Bro. of Jared and company didn't need one. These are some great questions, and would lead into a great conversation, but I want to stay focused on the methods used to help the Bro. of Jared and company.  In Ether 2: 24 the Lord says "for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth." Then in Ether 6:5 "And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind." - This was the Lord's solution to moving the Bro. of Jared and company from point A to point B: a massive, never ending, pounding, terrible tempest to move this growing group of people across the ocean. Using a storm that lasted for nearly a full year. Why? The Lord would later provide a tool for families to use; He would split the Red Sea for the people to cross on dry ground; he moved Nephi around in a whirlwind from town to town, why use a storm? Not sure, but it worked. 

What is the COVID-19 storm doing for us? What is it doing for me? It has been a challenge: working from home, virtual learning for the kids, not gathering with the Saints to share testimony, not having to shower every day, being forced to be diligent in scripture reading, diligent in praying, being forced to do ministering outside of the church building, wearing a mask everywhere. Not really the virus (I pray our family won't be tested with that trial, but I know we may yet be tested), but more the side effects. The Bro. of Jared and company may understand this. They were stuck inside for almost a year too. Please note that when I say diligent at reading scriptures and praying, I know I have to be diligent because it is so easy to not do those things during this crazy time.

And what did the Bro. of Jared do during the trip on / in the water? He praised the Lord. He gave thanks each time they were on top of the water. Each time they were below the crashing waves. For fresh air. For light to see. For family to be with. For the adventure of it all. Do I give thanks for my cramped apartmet, screaming, loud, always hungry, wonderful children? Do I give thanks for my job, for Jennifer's job? For working cars, for protection from the virus? For the blessing it has been to administer the Sacrament to my family at home? To administer the Sacrament to those who cannot do so for themselves. I have so much to be grateful for. Even the storm that is constantly pushing my toward that promise land.

...

* Considering all the livestock, including honey bees this group carried over the ocean with them: the same demand was not asked of by Lehi and his family. They took animals, but that was not their focus. When they hit the ground they started planting all their grain. The bees and animals were already in the land. The Lord knows the beginning and the end, and everything in between! He is always preparing His people for the challenges that will be asked of them. In this case: Lehi and family, they landed in a place that had all the necessary livestock and required bee hives to be successful. And the Lord did it in a natural and understandable way. (Though it is best understood in hindsight. Looking forward and or during the storm, the blessing are harder to see because we are in the midst of them and don't have the perspective to understand the power of the blessings).

Fear or Forearms

How can I become more like Ammon? He was a spiritual giant? He started out as a bad guy, but ended up as a hero in the army of our Savior. What did he do to prepare him for his challenges, and his "victories"? He studied the gospel. He knew the doctrine. He invested the time, thought, and prayer necessary to be worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost. He also acted. He didn't wait for opportunities to come to him, rather he went to a place where those opportunities would be around every corner.
When the time came to serve, he didn't asked for a reassignment when asked to feed the sheep, he went to work. He didn't say this is too hard when he was challenged by the armed thugs trying to take the king's sheep. He had already made the decision that he was going to serve with his whole soul, and then he did it.
When it came time to be an example, or to be a missionary, he didn't say I need to start with the king, these other servants are beneath me. He just wanted to share the gospel with any and all that would listen to him. And he never stopped, or embarrassed by his testimony. He took every opportunity to praise the Lord, and to try to bring souls to Him.
This is how I can become like Ammon. Learn, Act, Share.

Change in topics

Changing gears

This blog was originally created as an assignment for my Bachelor's degree. I have since earned my degree, have been blessed with a great job because of it. So I decided that I would use this blog for a new purpose. I am now going to use it for thoughts, lessons, and follow up on my lessons that I teach every other week. I have been asked to help teach the 16-18 young men and young women in our ward. As I said I teach every other week. The subject for the year is the Book of Mormon. I am excited to be teaching on these scriptures. They are the word of God, and as I study them, and ponder, and try to put myself in them, I get closer to my Father in Heaven. I know that Joseph Smith did see God our Father, and His Son Jesus Christ. I know this by the Spirit teaching my soul this truth. I also know that Joseph Smith, the young prophet did translate the Book of Mormon from gold plates. I know this as well from the Holy Ghost teaching me eternal truth. I pray that I will have the determination, and the time to share my thoughts with each lesson, before and after if possible. 

Now what...

So, I finished my degree in October 2010 by writing a business plan with/for my brother-in-law. He had a great idea working in the IT industry. It hasn't produced any thing more than a passing grade for me, but for my brother-in-law I think that it has produced small amounts of $.

But what am I doing? Well I am trying to find a job. I was unemployed for a majority of my time in the program, and while having "Bachelors of Business Administration, 2010 on my resume has opened doors for me, I haven't been able to get in the door very far. So, that is where I am now, looking for work.

Steam valve

So, I thought that two was hard. Then I worked on 3, and continue to work on 3! I am sick and tired of spread sheets!!!
R4 was okay, but it wasn't my favorite. It is going to be harder not being employed. But I think that I will make it work. I made 1 work in the same boat. Anyway, 5 is also kinda difficult, mainly because I am working with a partner for the business, and it is difficult keeping him on task. And that may never change, and I don't think that it needs to, or at least not a lot, because he has the fire for this business and gets excited over all parts of it.

Sky-net summary

There is a lot that has been learned from this eight quarter experience. The number one lesson that was learned was to take the time to read, interpret, and try to understand all the information that is given. There is a deadly danger in relying on only a handful of numbers. Another terrible habit that was followed was the ignoring of the competitors. If at least Sky-net had followed their examples of introducing more brands to the market sooner, that alone made a huge difference.
Another error that was over looked was not truly paying attention to the effectiveness of the different cities. London was a money pit, and that office should have been closed, the North American cities were the most effective and profitable cities for Sky-net.
Paying attention to all the factors and the small but important decisions that were made is also a learned lesson. In one case a city was open, but the brands in the new city were not listed as available for sale in that city until the following quarter. That meant that for an entire quarter Sky-net was paying for the office space, employees, and all other fees, with not even the opportunity to make any money on the sell able items. This was a very small mistake that had huge financial consequences. An old quote comes to mind when thinking about some of the behaviors of this experience: haste makes waste.
Over all this was a very useful two years for Sky-net. Not only did they stick to their original business plan and not make any money, but they learned some very valuable lessons as were detailed above.

Sky-net 8th $.25

Again, we'll let the numbers do the talking:
Total market share: 4%
North America prices: Cyberdyne - $3,200. - rebate $50.
T-1000 - $3,000. - rebate $0.
Connor - $1,900. - rebate $0.
Asia prices: Cyberdyne - $3,200. - rebate $100.
T-1000 - $3,000. - rebate $0.
Connor - $1,900. - rebate $0.
Europe prices: Cyberdyne - $3,200. - rebate $200.
T-1000 - $3,000. - rebate $0.
Connor - $1,900. - rebate $0
The total quantity of computers sold: 1373, that is an increase of 811 computer over last quarter.
The advertising costs have remained the same. Yes we introduced a new brand to the market, but the cost of marketing it was way outside out in the hole budget, so we tried to make it as close to our other computers but more basic as possible so that the ads would cover the Connor as well.
We know that this is our best chance to really try to catch up as far as sales go, and profit, but, we understand that there is no way that this last quarter is going to bring us out of our ($8,476,918) hole.